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T HE SOUND level in the City Centre Market in Building 6 is clamorous. Gaggles of young people are walking,

talking and texting simultaneously; laptops compete for table space with brightly coloured water bottles and Starbucks cups. It is a very different scene from when I started taking classes, back when the school was known as Grant MacEwan College.

Tim Hortons and Pizza 73 are the only food vendors familiar to me. Everything else has changed.

Nathan Richuk, director of Food Services for Aramark’s Higher Education division, says franchise familiarity is necessary when feeding nearly 20,000 full- and part-time students every year at MacEwan University, but where familiarity is welcome, so too is change. Finding a balance between what is known and what is new is something that MacEwan’s Food Services takes into account when considering the needs

MacEwan University’s food scene is changing with the times

By Twyla Campbell

and wants of students who come from every culture of Canada and beyond.

“In order to take food service in a new direction, change was inevitable,” says Susan Cooper, coordinator, Hospitality Services. “The university needed to be responsive to food trends. Students are sophisticated with sophisticated and varied palates.”

STUDENTS THESE DAYS

Vegan. Vegetarian. Gluten-free. Local. Artisanal.

Type in any of those words into the newly launched MacEwanEats.ca and a list of on-campus food vendors pops up to display who is serving what. Students these days have a whole new dialogue when it comes to food and they’re not shy to ask questions. “It’s important,” says Nathan, “that every food vendor knows the answers to these questions.”

Authentic Thai and Laotian food is what customers can expect from Lan’s Asian Grill.

Owner Monica Lan says the best part of being on the campus is introducing staff and students to food of her culture. In response to concerns regarding food allergies and vegetarian item requests, she has adapted to meet her customers’ needs.

UNIQUELY MACEWAN APPROACH

The university found that the way to a student’s heart is through local food, including food trucks. Filistix, in its fourth year of operating out of the Robbins Health Learning Centre, and S’wich, in its second year, were recently named two of the top five food trucks in Edmonton.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a more vocal food advocate and pedigreed chef than Kathryn Joel, who received her training from Le Cordon Bleu in London. Kathryn is the owner of Get Cooking—a hybrid cooking school and café in the Residence building. Her unique sandwiches, gourmet salads and baked goods rival those found in any Edmonton restaurant.

— Etayankara (Murli) Muralidharan

34 | WINTER 2015/16

WHY FOOD CHOICE MATTERS

Does locally sourced, healthy, sustainably raised food matter? Several students I spoke with, three of whom were digging into fresh fruit trays and a bowl of Lan’s Tom Yum pho, said eating healthy foods gets them through the rigours of school work, and knowing what goes into the dishes directly impacts their food choices.

“Alternatives are key,” says Nathan. “We look at this as taking a holistic approach where everyone matters: every student, every athlete, every business.”

Residence students attend a cooking class at Get Cooking

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WHAT’S IN STORE?

The future of food at MacEwan is about to get very personal. While familiar franchises will always have a presence, Nathan envisions modular spaces that will see vendors changing out depending on what’s hot on the food scene. There will be more options to personalize dishes, and students’ voices will continue to be heard.

“We need to change with what the students want,” adds Susan.

According to what’s on offer at the City Centre Market, students’ needs are vast and varied. If parents worry about what their child is going to eat now that they’re out on their own, they need not. From perogies to beef vindaloo, lasagna to Korean barbeque, these dishes are made on-site, from scratch and with fresh ingredients. The kids will be just fine.

The university found that the way to a student’s heart is through local food, including food trucks.

CALLING ALL ALUMNI

Next time you’re in the neighbourhood, stop by for lunch and see what’s new on MacEwan’s evolving culinary scene; it might make you feel like a student again, and a well-fed one, at that.

“In order to take food service in a new direction, change was inevitable.”

— Susan Cooper, coordinator, Hospitality Services

Lex Boldireff from S’wich preps an artisinal sandwich